

Since you don't have to worry about expanding unit caps with Hobs, you can use those precious armaments to trade for workforce and expand your overall production at the start of the campaign instead. The result is a cheap early-game army that punches well above its cost and will last you most of the campaign if you supplement it with war engines and big monsters. Once you unlock their legendary hero, Gorduz Backstabber, by having eight Hobgoblin units in your army, his skill tree lets you buff Hob combat stats into the stratosphere, giving them all stalk, while also reducing their upkeep by 20%. Scraping together an army of orc and goblin labourers to overwhelm your enemy may be cheap, but Hobgoblins are where it's really at. The Hobgoblin stat line can get a bit scary for such a cheap unit (Image credit: Creative Assembly) Recruit Hobgoblins and Gorduz Backstabber On the plus side, convoys seem to benefit from Manufactory unit upgrades but don't require armament upkeep to use them, so choose wisely when selecting your convoy master and his roster. While ambushes aren't all that common and you can choose to avoid most battles, if you don't strengthen your convoys by picking up new units in random events, you will eventually face a force you can't beat and lose it all. If you've spent any time playing as Cathay, you'll have grown accustomed to easy-to-win caravan battles, as a few units of Gnoblars and an Ogre ambush you on the road. A steady supply of workforce will keep your production efficiency at 100%, allow you to staff new outposts and strip mines, and you can always use the Sacrifices for Zharr-Naggrund labour action to turn the excess into Conclave Influence for taking seats in the Tower of Zharr. Most important of all, you can trade for workforce the backbone of the Chaos Dwarf economy, and something you can only get through taking battle captives or raiding otherwise. Military Convoys are the Chaos Dwarfs' answer to Cathay's caravans, letting you send armed expeditions out across the world to trade guns and money for just about anything you need. Convoys are a great way to consistently get new workforce (Image credit: Creative Assembly)
